Vol 3 Section 0413

Notes: Hawkins is mentioned in Sam’s Apr. 24 response to an unidentified on the invitation committee; Charles Russell, Baron of Kilowen (1832-1900) would die Aug. 10.; William Thomson, Baron Kelvin (1824-1907), Scottish physicist and engineer; Baron Horace Davey (1833-1907), English judge; Donald Smith, Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal (Quebec, Canada) (1820-1914).

The Literary World, (London) May 11, Vol. 61, p.437 ran a short summary of Sam’s toast:

Mark Twain made one of his peculiar and characteristic speeches. Among other things he said:

He was on his way to his own country to run for the Presidency, because he thought there were not yet enough fanatics in the field, and those who were in the field were too much hampered by their principles, which to him meant prejudices. He as a Liberal of the liberalist, a Radical who was in favour of every thing that anybody else was in favour of, and a few more. He did not want to hamper himself, he wanted to satisfy the whole nation, because a President who represented the opinions of a little more than half the nation could be little more than half a President. He was in favour of temperance and intemperance, of morality and modified immorality, of a gold standard and free silver; he was in favour of all these views, and of as many more as the American public liked to bring forward. He had been an editor and a publisher, and an author and a lawyer, and a burglar, and he was on the way up. He was arrested and carried before a Committee the other day to give evidence on copyright. He was glad to hear that a Bill was to be introduced in the House of Lords which practically gave perpetual copyright except to Shakespeare and a few others, and he hoped that the United States would follow suit.

May 3 Thursday – Sam’s notebook: “11 p.m. ball in honor of the King of Sweden & Norway” [NB 43 TS 9].

May 4 Friday – Sam’s notebook: “Director Kellgren discovered that Jean has turned the corner & will get well / Dinner—8(?) Moberly Bell, 98 Portland Place” [NB 43 TS 9]. See May 17 to Moffett. MTHHR 445n1

May 5 Saturday – Sam’s notebook: “Mr. Hapgood” [NB 43 TS 9].

May 6 Sunday – Sam’s notebook: “Lord Russell 2 Cromwell Houses—2 o’clock” [NB 43 TS 9].

May 7 Monday – Sam’s notebook: “Jim Clemens—dinner / Royal Academy / Mr. Roche—6 to 7—here / Bergheim has returned from Paris. Rothschild takes 6 months’ option on French plasmon patent—can then make it final or withdraw” [NB 43 TS 9-10].

At 30 Wellington Court in London, England Sam wrote to Bertha von Suttner in Vienna. The following is headed “Copy” and “(Rough draft)”:

It is ever so kind of you to remember me, & I thank you for it. I wish I believed in the Czar, now, as before the Finland episode: in which case I should hold it a pleasure & a privilege to be allowed to come & hear him praised.

I am not as young as I was. I realize it when I put the Finland tragedy & the Hague Comedy together, & find that I want to cry when I ought to laugh [MTP].

Note: The Peace Conference at the Hague, which met from May 18 to July 29, 1899, had been called by the Czar of Russia. Clashes between governmental organizations in Russia and Finland were frequent at this time, as Russia exerted influence in Finland.

May 8 Tuesday – Sam’s notebook: “Mrs. Low—dinner—7.45. 2 Durham Place, Chelsea, S.W.” [NB 43 TS 10]. Note:

Sir Sidney James Low (1857-1932) lived at this address, and editor of the St. James Gazette (1888-1897).

SLC used mourning border for most letters from Susy’s death on, then from Livy’s death on.